Reinforcement for the shank edges of shoe-taps



51 moawboz H. BRUCK.

REINFORCEMENT FOR THE SHANK EDGES 0F SHOE TAPS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 3, I919.

Patented June 1, 1920.

fiiziyjfiacfi Q/VH/vwoo UNITED ,STTS

HENRY BRUCK, 0F PORTLAND, OREGON.

REINFORCEMENT FOR SHANK EDGES OF SHOE-TAPS.

Application filed November 3, 1919. Serial No. 335,271.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENnrBnUoK, a citizen of the United States, residingat Portland, in the county of Multnomah and State of Oregon, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Reinforcements for the ShankEdges of Shoe-Taps, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to composition shoe soles and has particularreference to an improvement in half soles or so-called taps.

In the making of whole soles of rubber or rubber composition, little orno difiiculty presents itself in attaching the soles to the welt of theshoe. However, such is not the case in connection with half soles forthe reason that while the side edges of the sole may be sewed orstitched to the welt the rear or shank edge thereof must be nailed down,and by reason of the strains imposed on the sole at this point it wasfound necessary to reinforce the shank edge thereof in a practicalmanner which would meet all of the, requirements of application and use.The patent to Shoemaker and Bruck, No. 1,239,628, dated September 11,1917, shows a thoroughly practical and successful means for reinforcingthe half sole at the shank edge, and the present invention aims toattainthesame end in a somewhat different manner while at the same timemaintaining allof the advantages of the type of reinforcement shown insaid patent.

The patent to Shoemaker and Bruck referred to, wherein I am a jointinventor,

illustrates and describesa half sole madeof a rubber composition havingits shank edge reinforced by a strip of folded fabric placed astride anintermediate layer of the sole whereby during the vulcanizing step, inthe manufacture of the sole, the engagement of the folded fabric overthe interme' diate layer will serve to hold the same in place andprevent it from being shifted up ,theinvention is shown in theaccompanying into the body of the sole under pressure of the mold inproducing the skived or beveled edge at the rear end of the tap. Thespaced plies produced'b-y the folded fabric therefore provide athoroughly practical and efficient and well distributed reinforcementfor theshank edge of the shoe tap, while-the folded edge serves as an"anchor for the material during the manufacturing process. Nevertheless,it has been found desirable to meet certain manufacturing requirementsand also make a cheaper product to utilize a slngle ply of fabric, butheretofore on account of a slngle piece of fabric offering no resistanceagainst slipping under the pressure of the molding operation, and alsobecause of the fact that it was necessary to utilize a heavier fabricwhich inuse caused the sole to crack where the bulk of the compositionand fabric joined, it could not be successfully used. However, by reasonof unproved manufacturing methods and equipment the tendency-of thereinforcement v Accordingly, a primary object of the in- .vention is toprovide a fabric reinforcement for the shank edge of a half sole whichmay be used in the form of a single ply of sufficient thickness andtoughness to withstand the pulling stress imposed thereon by the holdingnails at the shank edge of the tap while at the same time being sodesigned and arranged as to prevent the cracking of thecomposition'alongthe'line where the reinforcement stops-toward the frontportion of the tap.

A fu-rther object incidental to the foregoing-primary object is toprovide a fabric reinforcing unit which obviates the necessity: of usinga multiplicity of thickness to obtain the required reinforcement; V 7

With the above and other objects in view which will more readily appearas the nature of the invention isbetter understood the 'same consists inthe novel construction,

. combination and arrangement of partshereinafter more fully described,illustrated'and claimed.

A preferred and practical embodiment of drawings, in which Figure 1 is aplan view of a shoe tap view of the reinforcing strip.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged horizontal section taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1.

Similar reference characters designate figures of the drawings.

According to the patent, previously referred to, it is proposed toutilize a folded reinforcing 'material consisting of spaced pliesembedded: in the composition at the rear or shank edge of the tap, thesaid spaced plies preferably straddling an intermediate layer or portionof composition which constitutes thebody of the sole. This is a veryadvantageous arrangement since it not only provides a reinforcementsufficiently strongandwell distributed to withstandthe strainsimposedthereupon, but at the-same time provides for holding the reinforcement in-place at'the rear edge of the tap during-manufacture.Furthermore, the

employment of spacedplies provided for the distribution of thereinforcement in such a manner that the sole would not break or crackwhere thereinforcement terminated at itsinner edge. Accordingly, thepresent inventionaims to preserve these features and advantages by theuse of an unfolded unit force-the-shank edge of the tap.

The improved manufacturing methods by which a single ply or unit ofreinforcing material may be utilized may involve many different formsand types of apparatus, but one way which has been found to besuccessful, is the provision of a seriesof anchoring pins or theirequivalent in the mold which engage the reinforcing strip and serve to-securely hold itin position when the Y plastic sole composition issubjected to pres sure in themolding operation. Through the utilizationof special equipment the tendency of the singlefabric unit to slipduring the process of manufacture has therefore been corrected, and inorder to provide for such an embedment and union the relatively heavyunit of reinforcing fabric and the sole composition it is proposed toprovide a reinforcing strip having the novel characteristics to be nowreferred'to.

That is to say it is proposed to provide a fabric reinforcement strip 1which meets all of the requirements as to thickness and weight accordingto the size and character of the sole in which it is to be embedded, andwhich is provided with an irregular edge 2 that may be of serrated orincised formation and adaptedto be placed'in the sole with the saidserrated or incisededge disposed toward the toe' thereof while the ofthe tap.

plain'rear edge 3 is located at the rear edge By reason of the serrated,

toothed, or equivalent formation of the inner edge of thereinforcementthere is provided aplurality of forwardly projectingtongues 4- which serve to distribute the front edge of the reinforcementin such a manner that a sharp line of departure between the same and therubber composition is entirely obviated or avoided. In other words theinvention has as one of its novel and distinctive features the-provisionof a unit of reinforcement for the shank edge of a-composition half solewhich has its inner edge broken up in any suitable manner that willprevent an abrupt joint where it projects into the body'of the soletothus prevent cracking of the sole atjthe part which is v subjected tothe greatest bending and pulling stresses.

The formation ofthe serrated'or like edge on the 'reinforcing materialhas the special advantage of permitting the use of comparatively heavyfabrics for the reinforcement strip, and it will of course be understoodthat the invention is not limited to the particular shape, length ordisposition of the anchoring'tongues 3 which provide in effect agraduated embedment for the fabric. at its front edge. I 95 Withoutfurther description it is thought that the features of theinventionwilLbe readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and it will ofcourse be understood that changes in form and proportion maybe resortedto without departing from the features defined by'the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A reinforced shoe tap including the tap body and a reinforcing stripembedded in the shank edge thereof, said strip having one edge formedwith a plurality of projections. H

2. Areinforced shoe tapincluding the tap body and a reinforcing stripembedded in 110 the shank-edge thereof, said strip having at the frontedge thereof a plurality of spaced projecting tongues disposed towardthe toe of the tap body.

3. A reinforced shoe tap-including the tap body'and a reinforcing stripembedded in the shank edge thereof, said-strip having. a plain rear edgeand a serratedfront edge.-

4. A reinforced shoe tap including the-tap body and a unit of fabric ofrelatively great thickness having an irregular inside edgeportion toprovide a graduated joint between the front edge of the fabric and'thebody of the tap.

- 5. A reinforced shoe tap including the tap body having at the shankedge a singlestrip of unfolded fabric provided with aplurality ofembedment tongues projecting from the front edge thereof and into thebody'of the tap, said strip being embodied within the V shank edge ofthe tap and extending transversely thereof in the nail receiving zone.

6. A reinforced shoe tap includingthe tap body and a reinforcing stripembedded in 5 the shank edge thereof, said strip having a broken edgeportion interlocking with the body.

7 A reinforced shoe tap including the tap body and a reinforcing stripembedded in the shank edge of said body and having a 10 sinuous edgeportion interlocking therewith. In testimony that I claim the foregoingas my own I have hereto aflixed my signature in the presence of twowitnesses.

. HENRY BRUCK.

Witnesses:

JOHN W. REYNOLDS,

M. CoLnwELL.

